37 Essential JavaScript Interview

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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is a potential pitfall with using typeof bar === "object" to

determine if bar is an object? How can this pitfall be avoided?

View answer

2. What will the code below output to the console and why?

(function(){
var a = b = 3;
})();

console.log("a defined? " + (typeof a !== 'undefined'));

console.log("b defined? " + (typeof b !== 'undefined'));

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 View answer

3. What will the code below output to the console and why?

var myObject = {
foo: "bar",
func: function() {
var self = this;
console.log("outer func: this.foo = " + this.foo);
console.log("outer func: self.foo = " + self.foo);
(function() {
console.log("inner func: this.foo = " + this.foo);
console.log("inner func: self.foo = " + self.foo);
}());
}
};
myObject.func();

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4. What is the significance of, and reason for, wrapping the entire
content of a JavaScript source file in a function block?

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 What is the significance, and what are the benefits, of including
5. 'use

strict' at the beginning of a JavaScript source file?

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6. Consider the two functions below. Will they both return the same
thing? Why or why not?

function foo1()
{
return {
bar: "hello"
};
}

function foo2()
{
return
{
bar: "hello"
};
}

View answer

7. What will the code below output? Explain your answer.

console.log(0.1 + 0.2);
console.log(0.1 + 0.2 == 0.3);

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8. In what order will the numbers 1-4 be logged to the console when the
code below is executed? Why?
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(function() {
 console.log(1);
setTimeout(function(){console.log(2)}, 1000);
setTimeout(function(){console.log(3)}, 0);
console.log(4);
})();

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9. Write a simple function (less than 160 characters) that returns a

boolean indicating whether or not a string is a palindrome.

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10. Write a sum method which will work properly when invoked using
either syntax below.

console.log(sum(2,3)); // Outputs 5
console.log(sum(2)(3)); // Outputs 5

View answer

11. Consider the following code snippet:

for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

var btn = document.createElement('button');
btn.appendChild(document.createTextNode('Button ' + i));
btn.addEventListener('click', function(){ console.log(i); });
document.body.appendChild(btn);
}

(a) What gets logged to the console when the user clicks on “Button 4”
and why?

(b) Provide one or more alternate implementations that will work as

expected.
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 View answer

12. Assuming d is an “empty” object in scope, say:

var d = {};

…what is accomplished using the following code?

[ 'zebra', 'horse' ].forEach(function(k) {

d[k] = undefined;
});

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13. What will the code below output to the console and why?

var arr1 = "john".split('');

var arr2 = arr1.reverse();
var arr3 = "jones".split('');
arr2.push(arr3);
console.log("array 1: length=" + arr1.length + " last=" + arr1.slice(-1));
console.log("array 2: length=" + arr2.length + " last=" + arr2.slice(-1));

View answer

14. What will the code below output to the console and why ?

console.log(1 + "2" + "2");

console.log(1 + +"2" + "2");
console.log(1 + -"1" + "2");
console.log(+"1" + "1" + "2");
console.log( "A" - "B" + "2");
console.log( "A" - "B" + 2);

View answer
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 15. following recursive code will cause a stack overflow if the array list
The
is too large. How can you fix this and still retain the recursive pattern?

var list = readHugeList();

var nextListItem = function() {

var item = list.pop();

if (item) {
// process the list item...
nextListItem();
}
};

View answer

16. What is a “closure” in JavaScript? Provide an example.

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17. What would the following lines of code output to the console?

console.log("0 || 1 = "+(0 || 1));

console.log("1 || 2 = "+(1 || 2));
console.log("0 && 1 = "+(0 && 1));
console.log("1 && 2 = "+(1 && 2));

Explain your answer.

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18. What will be the output when the following code is executed?
Explain.

console.log(false == '0')
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 View answer

19. What is the output out of the following code? Explain your answer.

var a={},
b={key:'b'},
c={key:'c'};

a[b]=123;
a[c]=456;

console.log(a[b]);

View answer

20. What will the following code output to the console:

console.log((function f(n){return ((n > 1) ? n * f(n-1) : n)})(10));

Explain your answer.

View answer

21. Consider the code snippet below. What will the console output be
and why?

(function(x) {
return (function(y) {
console.log(x);
})(2)
})(1);

View answer

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22. What will the following code output to the console and why:
 var hero = {
_name: 'John Doe',
getSecretIdentity: function (){
return this._name;
}
};

var stoleSecretIdentity = hero.getSecretIdentity;

console.log(stoleSecretIdentity());
console.log(hero.getSecretIdentity());

What is the issue with this code and how can it be fixed.

View answer

23. Create a function that, given a DOM Element on the page, will visit
the element itself and all of its descendents (not just its immediate
children). For each element visited, the function should pass that
element to a provided callback function.

The arguments to the function should be:

• a DOM element

• a callback function (that takes a DOM element as its argument)

View answer

24. Testing your this knowledge in JavaScript: What is the output of

the following code?

var length = 10;

function fn() {
console.log(this.length);
}

var obj = {
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method: function(fn) {
 fn();
arguments[0]();
}
};

obj.method(fn, 1);

View answer

25. Consider the following code. What will the output be, and why?

(function () {
try {
throw new Error();
} catch (x) {
var x = 1, y = 2;
console.log(x);
}
console.log(x);
console.log(y);
})();

View answer

26. What will be the output of this code?

var x = 21;
var girl = function () {
console.log(x);
var x = 20;
};
girl ();

View answer

27. for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

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console.log(i); }, i * 1000 ); Got it
}
 What will this code print?

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28. What do the following lines output, and why?

console.log(1 < 2 < 3);

console.log(3 > 2 > 1);

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29. How do you add an element at the begining of an array? How do

you add one at the end?

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30. Imagine you have this code:

var a = [1, 2, 3];

a) Will this result in a crash?

a[10] = 99;

b) What will this output?

console.log(a[6]);

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31. What is the value of typeof undefined == typeof NULL ?

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 What would following code return?
32.

console.log(typeof typeof 1);

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33. What will be the output of the following code:

for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

setTimeout(function() { console.log(i); }, i * 1000 );
}

Explain your answer. How could the use of closures help here?

View answer

34. What is NaN ? What is its type? How can you reliably test if a value is
equal to NaN ?

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35. What will the following code output and why?

var b = 1;
function outer(){
var b = 2
function inner(){
b++;
var b = 3;
console.log(b)
}
inner();
}
outer();

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View answer
 36. Discuss possible ways to write a function isInteger(x) that
determines if x is an integer.

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37. How do you clone an object?

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* There is more to interviewing than tricky technical questions, so these are intended merely as a guide. Not
every “A” candidate worth hiring will be able to answer them all, nor does answering them all guarantee an “A”
candidate. At the end of the day, hiring remains an art, a science — and a lot of work.

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 Jay Johnston
Freelance JavaScript Developer
United States Toptal Member Since November 6, 2013

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Justin Michela
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United States Toptal Member Since March 28, 2018

Justin is a technical professional with a passion for learning and 15+

years of experience leading teams to build enterprise-grade distributed
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